Eleven people were hospitalized in Peach Bottom Township, Pennsylvania after eating toxic wild mushrooms last week. The patients included a man, a woman, and nine children who were treated at a hospital and then released. The incident occurred after the family foraged for wild mushrooms and consumed them on Friday night. A family member had to walk half a mile to find a public phone to call 911 since the Amish community generally disallows cellphones and modern technology.
Emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene after 9:30 p.m. and transported all 11 patients. Due to the large number of people affected, the situation was classified as a “mass casualty incident.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns against consuming mushrooms foraged from the outdoors unless one is a trained expert known as a mycologist.
The CDC reports that most mushroom poisonings and deaths in the U.S. involve the consumption of Amanita phalloides mushrooms, also known as “death caps.” Eating these toxic mushrooms can lead to severe symptoms such as abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and liver damage, and in some cases, death. The incident serves as a reminder of the dangers associated with consuming wild mushrooms without proper expertise.
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